- test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org - classiccmp.org

by healyzh＠aracnet.com

Does anyone have this? http://www.amazon.com/New-Apple-II-Users-Guide/dp/0615639879 It came out in June of 2012, and is 796 pages. I find myself intrigued! I fear I'm sinking into another 8-bit period. :-) Zane -- | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | | healyzh at aracnet.com | OpenVMS Enthusiast | | | Photographer | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | My flickr Photostream | | http://www.flickr.com/photos/33848088 at N03/ | | My Photography Website | | http://www.zanesphotography.com |

13 years, 8 months

9
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networking classic hardware

by barythrin＠gmail.com

The other trick xircom (pe3 at least) has is powering it either by a power adapter or from a passthrough keyboard plug. I've heard good things about them but I do believe they need a bidirectional parallel port. I never find a bargain on them so haven't played with one yet but you can find them hovering around the $15 mark on a good day.

13 years, 8 months

1
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film cameras was Re: Blue screen of Basic

by jbmcb1＠gmail.com

On Sun, Oct 28, 2012 at 10:17 PM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > > As has been pointed out, MegaPixels is a poor judge, BUT, consider this, > how many MP is in a sheet of 4"x5" or 8"x10" film, even when only scanned > at 2400dpi? The best prints I've ever seen have been 8x10 contact prints > made by Edward Weston. The sharpness of these prints, especially given the > lenses he was using, is enough to blow ones mind! Digital *CAN NOT* touch > a large format contact print done by a master of the craft! > Not sure if it is applicable in still-format photography, but in the motion picture world there is a concept of film to resolution equivalence. It's particularly important as with film you are enlarging the 35mm stock by several thousand percent when scanning into the digital domain. A "pixel" in the conversion is considered to be the smallest object that can be resolved and reproduced by the film or sensor. When using that comparison, a 35mm print is roughly 20 megapixels, or 8K resolution, assuming the film was shot and developed under ideal conditions. Scanning at any higher resolution doesn't buy you more detail, as you start getting into the grain at that point.

13 years, 8 months

6
7
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anyone with an early Option Board?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

therefore whats needed is a piece of ribbon cable or mort modern 3.5 only floppy cable, iow dual inline connectors at opposite ends, and a card edge in between? ------------------------------ On Sun, Oct 28, 2012 1:10 PM PDT Fred Cisin wrote: >On Sat, 27 Oct 2012, Chris Tofu wrote: >> mine is longer then any Ive seen on various sites. Probably older. Need >> docs and s/w, though what Ive downloaded may be appropriate. Anyone ever >> use their (discrete logic) version with 8 inch drives? > >I can tell you the contents of the docs that came with it! >1) connect in inline in the cable between the disk controller and the >drive. It originally came with with a short cable with a 34 pin card edge >and 34 pin dual-inline connector. You could reverse that cable to connect >to your FDC and either connector of the board. Then your existing drive >cable connects to the other connector. >"Do all connections and anstallation with the computer turned off!" >Run the supplied software. > >Although much more verbose, that was all that the documentation said. > >It didn't even give the meaning of the jumper or switch that some models >had, labelled "Compaq/Other" > > >At one time, they permitted me access to a "secret" page of instructions >on how to program it. Several parts of that page did not match what was >done in their supplied software (disassembly). I have since seen that >page show up in a few places on the web. > > >-- >Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com > > >

13 years, 8 months

7
12
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do SE mobos fit in Mac Plus cases?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

ok so what is your opinion on painting macs, FI black? ------------------------------ On Tue, Oct 30, 2012 4:02 AM PDT Joost van de Griek wrote: >No. > >On 30 okt. 2012, at 11:17, Chris Tofu <rampaginggreenhulk at yahoo.com> wrote: > >> if not will they still w/great difficulty > >Of course. > >.tsooJ >-- >Wherever you go, there you are. >-- >Joost van de Griek ><http://www.jvdg.net/>

13 years, 8 months

3
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6 bit encoding

by brian＠quarterbyte.com

Hi all, I'm decyphering an encoding scheme that was used to compress source code decks. It's from an old obscure IBM 1130 program (CMXP, written by Wil Baden, part of set of enhancements that let source code be stored, edited, and compiled directly from disk. Radical! Visionary!) The compressed format uses 6 bits to encode each character, but it's not any of the standard IBM 6-bit EBCD schemes I've found through Google. It *might* be unique to this compression/decompression program, whose source I haven't found yet. (And if the source does turn up it'll likely be compressed using this format -- so unless the character codes are in the source as hex constants, the source may not help). Here is what I've been able to map out so far, from a small fragment of an encoded source deck: Hex value 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 00 sp A B C D E F G H I . ) 10 + J K L M N O P Q R * 20 - / S T U V W X Y Z , ( 30 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 = where "sp" is space. I am absolutely certain of the encoding of the space, alphabet, digits, slash, comma, period, parentheses, and asterisk. I'm pretty sure of the plus, minus, and equals. For the ones I've left blank, I have no idea yet; either the codes aren't in the sample I examined or I can't guess what the character is from the context. If I read in more cards they might become clear. I've found some CDC codes where / precedes S, but the row ordering is different. Does this encoding ring any bells for anyone? (Again, it might not belong to any standard). Thanks Brian

13 years, 8 months

3
2
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Writing an AST in VAX-Pascal

by jonas＠otter.se

I did this in the '80s and it worked very well, I used it as a kind of software interrupt in a communications handler that had to handle both input and output at the same time from the same terminal. Unfortunately I don't rememver exactly how I did it, and I no longer have access to the source code. But I did find this in the HP Pascal for OpenVMS User manual, section 5.1.4 on page 5-6: Asynchronous system trap routines (ASTs) and RMS completion routines must have both the ASYNCHRONOUS and UNBOUND attributes. Because they are asynchronous, such routines can access only volatile variables, predeclared routines, and other asynchronous routines. The Language Reference mentions the User manual near the end in conjunction with volatile variables. You might also need to declare the variable p as volatile somewhere. The User manual is here: http://h71000.www7.hp.com/doc/82final/6140/aa-pxsnd-tk.pdf You would probably want to read chapter 5 in there. Hope this helps. /Jonas

13 years, 8 months

1
0
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dead sca scsi hard disk

by teoz＠neo.rr.com

I have a Seagate ST336706LC (10KRPM 36GB SCA-2) HD that quit working one day (doesn't light up, isn't detected, no humming or spinning). Was wondering if there is a fuse or something fixable on this drive (I kept my hardware drivers on it and not all of them are backed up). Mostly just want to get the data back before I toss it if possible. Any ideas?

13 years, 8 months

2
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cctech Digest, Vol 110, Issue 52

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

> From: jim s <jws at jwsss.com> > Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:34:13 -0700 > Subject: B6700 story from Sharktank > > "It's 2 o'clock in the morning. Halloween. Suddenly, the two screens go blank. Then two closed eyes appear. Slowly open. Eyeballs look slowly to the left, then slowly to the right -- then slowly stare straight ahead. Then eyelids slowly close, the two displays blank, and go back to scrolling plain text. > > "Of course, nobody is going to believe the operator..." A friend at CDC gave me a punched card deck that would run that program. The computer operators at the University were more than a little freaked out when they saw the eyes. No, I don't have the card deck anymore. -- Michael Thompson

13 years, 8 months

2
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PLCC extraction tool

by elson＠pico-systems.com

Message: 8 Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2012 12:25:26 -0400 From: Keith Monahan <keithvz at verizon.net> To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: PLCC extraction tool Message-ID: <508FFF76.6050409 at verizon.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed I've got to remove a PLCC from a socket, and intend on just using a couple screwdrivers/picks. I may need to do this a few times, but I generally don't find the need to do it. Is a specialized PLCC extraction tool really required/much easier/safer/etc? There seem to be a ton of tools online starting around $2 US a piece. If I'm going to spend the time/shipping to order one, I may as well get a decent one. Can anyone recommend a specific model/US source for it? Warning, levering them out with a tool can easily crack the socket, then you will get poor contact. I've got a $10 tool that easily fits the larger sockets, but the first time I used it on a 68-pin PLCC, the pulling hooks broke off. I filed new hooks out of decent steel and brazed them to the existing tool's arms, and it works great, now. So, I can't recommend an off-the shelf tool that actually works well right out of the box. Jon

13 years, 8 months

1
0
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PLCC extraction tool

by keithvz＠verizon.net

I've got to remove a PLCC from a socket, and intend on just using a couple screwdrivers/picks. I may need to do this a few times, but I generally don't find the need to do it. Is a specialized PLCC extraction tool really required/much easier/safer/etc? There seem to be a ton of tools online starting around $2 US a piece. If I'm going to spend the time/shipping to order one, I may as well get a decent one. Can anyone recommend a specific model/US source for it? Thanks, Keith

13 years, 8 months

7
11
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searching for Unibus disk controllers

by shadoooo＠gmail.com

Hello, I'm searching for Unibus disk controllers for my 11/24 and 11/730 machines. It could be ESDI, SMD or better SCSI, of course the price will change. Also an RL02 or RX02 interface could be interesting, if somebody has one to rid of. I already have an SDI interface, but no SDI working disk, unfortunately... Preferred location is within EU. Thanks Andrea

13 years, 8 months

1
0
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B6700 story from Sharktank

by jws＠jwsss.com

From the Computerworld Sharktank. I think this also the system with the B in the lights as well. Flashback to the mid-1960s, when the Control Data 6600 computer was the fastest thing going, according to this IT pilot fish who remembers it well. "It was about 1 megaFLOPS," says fish. "The operator console, manned 24/7 of course, had two large, circular CRT screens, side-by-side, that almost always displayed operator messages scrolling up the screens. As long as those messages were scrolling, the operator seldom had to pay attention to them. "But the CRTs were actually vector displays, capable of more, under program control. "It's 2 o'clock in the morning. Halloween. Suddenly, the two screens go blank. Then two closed eyes appear. Slowly open. Eyeballs look slowly to the left, then slowly to the right -- then slowly stare straight ahead. Then eyelids slowly close, the two displays blank, and go back to scrolling plain text. "Of course, nobody is going to believe the operator..."

13 years, 8 months

6
8
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DSO / logic analyzer buying advice

by keithvz＠verizon.net

I currently have a dual-channel 30mhz analog scope, the Intronix 34-channel 500mhz 2k samples max logic analyzer, a Saleae Logic 8-channel 24mhz unlimited samples and a (much) older 60mhz DSO on it's last legs. The 30 & 60 mhz analog scopes are simply too big and cumbersome to use. These new scopes are much smaller and more convenient. For logic analyzers, I have FAST, WIDE, but short buffer. And a slow, narrow, mega-long buffer(limited by PC RAM more or less). These both have their good points but to round out my tools, I need something that ballparks 200mhz, 32-channels, and decent buffer. What's a decent buffer? I don't know exactly. I know 2k isn't even close. And that a million+ is really nice. These are both PC-based logic analyzers and I'm fine with that. The software is sufficient with both and gets me the measurements I need. Of course, I'd prefer standalone units but still would like to export data to a PC (say via USB or serial). This would simplify the process and the UIs of dedicated devices have usually been thought out a little more than the PC software..... I was seriously looking at a Rigol DS1102D which is 100mhz, 16-channel LA + 2 analog channels. My only real beef is that it's 16-channels and not 32. Could really use 32 to do a 16-bit data bus and other stuff (partial address, etc) I can't easily tell looking at the specs what the depth of the LA would be. Would I simply divide the 1 million point memory by the 16 channels? http://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/ds1000d/ds1102d/ Rigol's have gotten great reviews. Or do I get a scope only, and then use something cheap like this http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Open_Bench_Logic_Sniffer and solder another 16-pin header onto that and go 32-channels, 200mhz, 6k depth. Or buy a kickass eval board and hack SUMP onto it, and get a deeper solution..... While I'm a huge fan of HP and Tektronix, and I know there is old hardware at reasonable prices --- I don't want to mess with trying to piece parts a large mainframe together from untrusted sources, and spend time trying to fix something like that. Plus, the specs are normally not even close to that of modern equipment. I'd rather invest time hacking verilog onto a new eval board that has plenty of fast memory............... Any discussion would be helpful. Thanks, Keith

13 years, 8 months

6
13
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film cameras was Re: Blue screen of Basic

by tdk.knight＠gmail.com

canon F1 is is the king of the 35mm world as far as i can tell

13 years, 8 months

8
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The New Apple II User's Guide

by barythrin＠gmail.com

http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/showthread.php?31323-New-Book-is-a-… He mentioned it on the vintage computer forums. http://macgui.com/newa2guide/ I think is the official link. Apparently this is the 2nd revision which does correct some errors. From the chapter previews I'm surprised how much information is in the book. I haven't bought or read it but it's certainly tempting and definitely seems like enough to get someone with the equipment up and running these days.

13 years, 8 months

2
1
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Surplus DE9F to 8P8C adapters available

by tothwolf＠concentric.net

I have a large number of surplus DE9F to 8P8C (RJ45) adapters available if someone can use some. I counted at least 350, but I'm not sure of the exact number. When I bought them many years ago, I was expecting to get adapters that had all 8 wires present (based on the photo the seller provided) but what he sent me were pre-wired and three of the wires are clipped away down inside the adapter body. (It might be possible to extend those three wires, but I didn't want to spend the time on it.) The adapters are labeled with a "PC" sticker, so I have to assume they were originally used to connect to a PC serial port of some sort. (Mixed in with these were a handful of DE9M to 8P8C adapters labeled "UPS" that have 5 wires similarly clipped away). These are located on the US side of the pond, and whoever might want some will have to cover the postage. I don't think these adapters are really worth very much, although I certainly won't complain if someone wants to pay something for some of them and help offset my original purchase cost. I didn't pay /too/ much for them, although I doubt I'd have bought them at all had the seller been up front about what he had. If these adapters sound useful at all I can see about taking some photos and a work up the pinout. I just really can't see me ever using ~350 of these things :)

13 years, 8 months

17
48
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Writing an AST in VAX-Pascal

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

It has been many years since I wrote any VAX-Pascal and I find myself needing to write an AST. I have looked around in various documentation but can't find any examples. The AST I want to write is in response to the completion of a QIO. The QIO call looks like this: Stat := $QIO(0, Channel, IO$_WRITEVBLK, , %IMMED SendCompleted, 0, Buf, Len); And the AST itself looks like this (no body at the moment, just want to make it work first): [ASYNCHRONOUS] PROCEDURE SendCompleted( P : UNSIGNED); BEGIN END; When I run the code though I get a runtime error: %SYSTEM-F-ACCVIO, access violation, reason mask=00, virtual address=00000000, PC =000008C1, PSL=03C00000 %TRACE-F-TRACEBACK, symbolic stack dump follows module name routine name line rel PC abs PC DMC11SEND SENDCOMPLETED 67 00000009 000008C1 801D58F3 801D58F3 0001E893 0001E893 DMC11SEND SEND 77 00000070 00000938 DMC11SEND DMC11SEND 111 00000179 000006BD I am not sure what I have done wrong, anyone know? Thanks Rob

13 years, 8 months

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film cameras was Re: Blue screen of Basic

by tshoppa＠wmata.com

> Wait... That Ken Rockwell article says *nothing* about film > grain. I even searched it for the word grain. How on earth > can you write an article about the relative resolution of film > without a word regarding grain?! That's right. If anyone starts believing that "no grain" is the same as "high resolution" then we end up back in the mushy microdol-X era where every photo is just... blah. I far prefer a nice roll/sheet of Tri-X or HP5 developed in a high-acutance developer that really makes for obvious sharp snappy grain. Oh it's so beautiful. For fans of color... the 1600 color slide films available in the late 80's/early 90's, when push processed a few stops, are amazing. Astoundingly huge and sharp color grain. I love it. Tim.

13 years, 8 months

3
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do SE mobos fit in Mac Plus cases?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

if not will they still w/great difficulty

13 years, 8 months

3
2
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spare rom sockets...

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

...on IBM mobos can be used to read what types of eproms? If you wanted to read off the contents to a disk file...

13 years, 8 months

7
8
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OT: old cameras

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

With this talk about tintypes, I was wondering if anyone had any pointers on where to get an inexpensive 4x5 field camera. -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

13 years, 8 months

2
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OT: More photographic (Was: Surplus DE9F to 8P8C adapters

by feldman.r＠comcast.net

From: Chuck Guzis < cclist at sydex.com > >On 10/28/2012 09:19 PM, Paul Anderson wrote: >> That would probably wet plate photography. People are definitely >> still doing it, and getting some incredibly beautiful results. > >I'll bet that if you search hard enough, you can still find people who >make tintypes. > >--Chuck Tintypes are too new. How about daguerreotypes? http://www.alternativephotography.com/wp/processes Bob

13 years, 8 months

1
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wanted: Apollo dn1000

by francois.dion＠gmail.com

Anybody has or know of a dn1000 for sale or in search of a good home for their dn1000? I'm in North Carolina. Fran?ois -- solarisdesktop.blogspot.com - raspberry-python.blogspot.com

13 years, 8 months

1
0
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Diagnosing and Reparing Commodore 64s

by ark72axow＠msn.com

Hello everyone, I was hoping for some definite direction in my endless quest to fix my C64. I don't have a lot of free time to work on this. So it is ongoing in many ways. Plus I am cautious about doing things that I know little about. Which can be good especially when you get people that give you conflicting advice. I do find a lot of helpful people on IRC, but you have to sort out what they are all telling you. I won't want to go and start buying all sorts of stuff and equipment without knowing why or then finding that I should have bought Y, when I bought X. I know a little. Bits and pieces here and there, but nothing that will give me confidence to just dive in. This is my quest to learn how to repair my C64: I started with my original C64 which I bought in 1987. I had left it in a garage for two years and then tried to use it and it didn't work. First I was told that I should clean my C64 with regular dish detergent and a hair dryer. I was told that this would solve many problems. Sounds unsafe, but I guess I will try it. Then I was told that I should buy another C64 since it isn't worth repairing them, since they are so plentifully available and cheap. So now I have many non-working ones. Then I need to replace chips that are bad, so I need to know how to solder and de-solder. Which kind of device to get ? There are different wattages and if you do it wrong then you burn up your boards (as a friend of mine did with more soldering experience did). Do I get a combination desolder sucker ? Or a little squeeze one ? Or a push and suck stick ? Do I get a soldering station ? A braider ? Too many different choices and combinations. I prefer something that will work and not damage my boards, and for desoldering, something that won't give me repetitive stress injury. Then I'm told to get a diagnostic cartridge for C64, which works well expect when the PLA chip is bad and there you can't see video. Then I should get a diagnostic harness, which works better, but again you need video. Then I find a Diagnose 64 cartridge which tells you which chips are bad very simply with LED lights, but they are hard to find. I'm borrowing one right now from a friend and figuring out how to use now. Then I'm told to get a multimeter, how do I use ? Which one to get ? I get one, then I'm told there is a better that could have been gotten for a little more money. Then I'm told to get a logic probe. Which one ? Again, how to use ? Then I'm told a logic probe is not as good as an oscilloscope. Which one ? How to use ? Then I'm told that I don't need an oscilloscope. Then I'm told to go to Ray Carlsen's site and that will have everything I need. http://personalpages.tds.net/~rcarlsen/cbm.html. Which is very nice, but I'm a beginner and I don't need just a bunch of schematics and reference material. I need step by step method which explains which tools, techniques etc. that I need to do. Then I'm told that going to the Rob Clarke and Bil Herd workshop would give me everything that I need to know. It is good information, but not hands on. Jeff B

13 years, 8 months

30
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OT fitting diverse lenses to ccd/cmos camera elements

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

I have a perfectly nice Nikon 12mpix, so its not on account of being cheap, though I am, and proud, and cheap people are the SOTE. But if I were interested in salvaging a smallish zoom lense and fitting it to this godawful Vivitar, just for fun, it came with with what I think is called a barrel lense, which is threaded, what specs can I presume to be suitable?

13 years, 8 months

2
1
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RISC OS laptop

by francois.dion＠gmail.com

What do you guys think of my RISC OS ARM laptop? http://raspberry-python.blogspot.com/2012/10/risc-laptop.html Battery powered ARM 1080p fun. :) Fran?ois -- solarisdesktop.blogspot.com - raspberry-python.blogspot.com

13 years, 8 months

1
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film cameras was Re: Blue screen of Basic

by jonas＠otter.se

At 4:55 PM -0700 10/28/12, Chris Tofu wrote: >> >I know Im in for it asking such a question, but are there any >> >realistic benefits to film these days considering the expense? >> >Personally the best film camera Ive ever used was a Polaroid. Benefits? The whole process, the slowness and mediativeness of the process compared to digital, the feel of seeing the negatives, the relaxation of developing the film and making prints, ... Are there any realistic benefits to watercolours or oil paints these days, compared to Adobe Creative Suite or whatever, considering the expense? Why mess around with old, slow, limited classic computers, when a laptop for a few hundred $ will do a thousand times more work, easier and better?

13 years, 8 months

1
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networking classic hardware

by tom_a_sparks＠yahoo.com.au

I am thinking of networking a group of classic computers and printers computers: (only listed ones without Ethernet port) A500 A1200 Mircobee premium plus (classic mircobee software dose not support Ethernet) printers: pen plotter dot matrix (two lost in the QLD flood 2010-2011, looking for another) daisy wheel (have not got one yet) I know about the UDS10[1a] I also know about these parallel printer servers[1b], I contact d-link a few years ago about an earlier version and the support staff told me about irrelevant GDI printer issues I am looking at running a linux server within the classic system network Are there other options? [1a] <http://www.lantronix.com/device-networking/external-device-servers/uds1100.…> [1b] <http://www.dlink.co.in/products/?pid=76> --- tom_a_sparks "It's a nerdy thing I like to do" Please use ISO approved file formats excluding Office Open XML - http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html Ubuntu wiki page https://wiki.ubuntu.com/tomsparks 3 x (x)Ubuntu 10.04, Amiga A1200 WB 3.1, UAE AF 2006 Premium Edition, AF 2012 Plus Edition, Sam440 AOS 4.1.2, Roland DXY-1300 pen plotter, Cutok DC330 cutter/pen plotter Wanted: RiscOS system, GEOS system (C64/C128), Atari ST, Apple Macintosh (6502/68k/PPC only)

13 years, 8 months

10
26
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RISC OS for Raspberry Pi released

by francois.dion＠gmail.com

On Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 11:31 AM, Zane H. Healy <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: > At 8:10 AM -0700 10/29/12, Cameron Kaiser wrote: >> >> I just downloaded it for my own Rpi. Always wanted a RISC OS box, but >> Archies are hard to come by in the USA. > > > I've always wanted one as well as RISC OS sounds interesting, so this might > actually convince me to purchase a Raspberry Pi! Unfortunately the > riscosopen site seems to be down at the moment. Here is my page on it, with links to the download link of the image. The official site is down, been down since yesterday it looks like. http://raspberry-python.blogspot.com/2012/10/risc-os.html It is in spanish, but the links are there (plus a google translate dropdown on the right). Plus the dd command to make the SD card. Well, obviously you'll have to adjust the of= based on your device. Last link at the bottom is to the programmer's documentation and the basic documentation and stuff like that. And some screenshots of the box booting. You dont even have time to count to 10 that the desktop is ready to use, not overclocked (700MHz, can run at 1GHz) and with a slow 2GB card. I'll put a sandisk extreme in next. Fran?ois -- solarisdesktop.blogspot.com - raspberry-python.blogspot.com

13 years, 8 months

1
0
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Copy Protection (Was: anyone with an early Option Board?

by rampaginggreenhulk＠yahoo.com

everytime you formatted a disk it would knock the heads to insure it was placed at track zero. ------------------------------ On Mon, Oct 29, 2012 11:35 AM PDT geneb wrote: >On Mon, 29 Oct 2012, Fred Cisin wrote: > >> some of the copy protection could actually damage your equipment over >> time. >> THAT calls for more detail. >> >Some copy protection methods on the Commodore 1541 drive knocked the head repeatedly against a hard stop - over time this would knock the head out of alignment. > >g. > >-- Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007 >http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind. >http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home. >Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies. > >ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment >A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes. >http://www.scarletdme.org - Get it _today_!

13 years, 8 months

1
0
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Blue screen of Basic

by francois.dion＠gmail.com

On the last guessing thread (it lives! about the CES apple clone), William said: "Make it PRINT "HELLO" and then GOTO 10 for me one more time, won't you please?" And the C64 fans were also left in want, so I present to you the Blue Screen Of Basic: http://raspberry-python.blogspot.com/2012/10/blue-screen-of-basic.html I'm sure quite a few people already know what it is... The follow up post wont be a clue but simply a detailed post on this modern retro computer. Fran?ois -- solarisdesktop.blogspot.com - raspberry-python.blogspot.com

13 years, 8 months

11
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Anyone Used UKOneStopPCShop on eBay?

by robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com

There is a UK seller on eBay called ukonestoppcshop ( http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/ukonestoppcshop?_trksid=p2047675.l2559) which sells loads of old DEC gear as "Dell Refurbished". I want to ask them a question or two but eBay won't let me ask because "due to the high number of emails this seller receives, they aren't able to respond to your specific question right now". I want to ask them what Dell has got to do with it, what refurbishment they do, and a few questions on the specific items I am interested in. The feedback seems mostly good, but not universally so. Has anyone on this list used this seller? Regards Rob

13 years, 8 months

1
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RISC OS for Raspberry Pi released

by lproven＠gmail.com

Don't know if this is "classic" enough, but it might interest some people... https://www.riscosopen.org/news/articles/2012/10/26/risc-os-pi-released-ris… There is a final, complete, stable version of Acorn's classic Archimedes OS now for the Raspberry Pi, making the RPi the cheapest Acorn-compatible there's ever been by a long way. It's based on ROOL's RISC OS 5.19, the latest version of the shared-source fork of RO, based off Pace's version. (That's Pace the satellite-TV/set-top-box/modem company.) RISC OS Ltd is still developing its closed proprietary version based off Acorn's unfinished betas of what was to become RISC OS 4 and still claims that Pace/Castle's version is unauthorised and not legitimately licenced. However, nobody much cares any more. ROL hasn't released a new version in several years and doesn't support modern and recent ARM hardware such as the Iyonix, BeagleBoard, PandaBoard and now Raspberry Pi - it basically just sells (quite expensive) updates of RISC OS 4 for classic Acorn hardware and directly hardware-compatible machines. It rebadged the latest update after 4.39 "RISC OS SIX" just to leapfrog Pace and ROOL's developments of RISC OS 5. -- Liam Proven ? Profile: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/G+/Twitter/Flickr/Facebook: lproven MSN: lproven at hotmail.com ? Skype/AIM/Yahoo/LinkedIn: liamproven Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884

13 years, 8 months

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Colossal cave map

by jfoust＠threedee.com

At 07:34 PM 10/27/2012, Rich Alderson wrote: >I first obtained a 5th-or-worse generation xerographic copy (highly >reduced, multiple pages) of it in 1977, when ADVENT infected the >UChicago DEC-20. I later saw a D- or E-sized single sheet rendering >hanging in Ralph Gorin's office in CERAS at LOTS (later outside his >office in Tresidder). If legible, such plots could be reconstructed by tracing in Adobe Illustrator. Contemporary sign-makers have tools that can load the Illustrator "legacy" EPS format and convert it to formats used by plotters and vinyl cutters. - John

13 years, 8 months

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looking for Mac serial to DataRover cable

by spectre＠floodgap.com

Looking for a Mac mini-DIN serial to DataRover serial cable, as mine has disappeared in the move, apparently. Please contact me off list. -- ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ -- Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com -- Either he's dead, or my watch has stopped. -- Groucho Marx -----------------

13 years, 8 months

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ftp.compaq.com document?

by legalize＠xmission.com

On Sat, 27 Oct 2012 16:38:45 MDT, Richard <legalize at xmission.com> wrote: > <ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/software/alpha-tools/documentation/current /alpha-archt/alpha-architecture.pdf> > > Where does this live now? Found it at <http://h18002.www1.hp.com/cpq-alphaserver/technology/literature/alphaahb.pdf> Alpha Architecture Handbook -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book <http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline> The Computer Graphics Museum <http://computergraphicsmuseum.org> The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org> Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

13 years, 8 months

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Hobbyist OpenVMS availability (WAS: Re: Microvax II won't boot, hardware error?)

by saquinn624＠aol.com

Holm writes: >Scott Quinn wrote: > > >> The license comes from the VMS Hobbyist Program. It's good for any version of >VMS, from 0.whateveryoucanfind to 8.4. >> Even though early versions of VMS do not enforce licensing through the LMF, >it's still required. >> >> Media can be borrowed. HP doesn't care where you get it, but asks that it not >be posted for public download. > >Hmmm... > >I do habe an hobbyist license for my 4000/90, got an VMS Isntall CD (don't >know the version currently) borrowed from a friend. >So what is the correct way to get an install media for wathever Version? > >Regards, > >Holm > >-- If you're looking for VAX version 7.3 (last VAX version), the HP guy you received your license e-mail from can set you up with an official HP download link for VMS+layered products (not a full ConDist, but a selection). For any earlier version ask around (also give location). HP has said in the past that they have no problems with hobbyists borrowing media, but they continually reiterate that they would not like to have it posted for public download. There are probably people on here who have it (I have 5.5-something, 7.2 and 7.3) , or you can ask on the OpenVMS Hobbyist fora.

13 years, 8 months

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Microvax II won't boot, hardware error?

by elson＠pico-systems.com

Message: 5 Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2012 08:17:50 -0400 From: Rick Murphy <rick at rickmurphy.net> To: <cctech at classiccmp.org> Subject: Re: Microvax II won't boot, hardware error? Message-ID: <201210251217.q9PCHosl030262 at rickmurphy.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed At 06:39 PM 10/24/2012, Kevin Reynolds wrote: > >.... A crash example is below: > > > > > >**** FATAL BUG CHECK, VERSION = V5.2 MACHINECHK, Machine check > >while in kernel mode > >... > > KERNEL/INTERRUPT/BOOT STACK > > > > 803AF1E8 0000000C > > 803AF1EC 00000082 > > 803AF1F0 7FF38058 > > 803AF1F4 02000002 > > 803AF1F8 00001534 > > 803AF1FC 03C00001 > Here's what that machine check stack frame means: 803AF1E8 0000000C 12 bytes of parameters 803AF1EC 00000082 Machine check code = Write bus error, virtual address 803AF1F0 7FF38058 Virtual address 803AF1F4 02000002 Internal CPU state. 803AF1F8 00001534 PC 803AF1FC 03C00001 PSL It seems that you are getting hard memory write faults on the stack. Maybe something is hanging up the Q-bus, or you have failing memory. If you have diagnostics, running a memory test for a while may get you somewhere. Otherwise, I'd look into trying to pinpoint the problem by removing memory modules and see if the system becomes more stable (assuming you have multiple memory cards, of course). -Rick Memory is NOT on the Q-bus, it has it's own dedicated bus on the C-D connector rows (how many slots are memory only in the CD rows depends on the specific backplane.) Possibly you might have a Q-bus board in a memory-only slot, that is certainly something to check. Otherwise, you may have a bad memory card, a bad or dirty slot, or possibly a bad CPU board. Hmm, I've never seen this error, but I think if a peripheral board is bad, it does not cause a machine check, but maybe I've never had the specific error. Can you tell what the physical address was? or, at this point, might virtual=physical? If so, is 7FF3xxxx in the Q-bus I/O space? Jon

13 years, 8 months

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Wanted: DEC Rxxx module photos

by v.slyngstad＠frontier.com

Hi, Today I have finished documenting the Rxxx "flipchip" modules in my possession. These are the modules from which most straight-8 and PDP-8/S gear was constructed: http://www.so-much-stuff.com/pdp8/flipchip/flipchip.php http://www.so-much-stuff.com/pdp8/flipchip/Rxxx.htm The Rxxx modules are a smallish subset of the larger DEC modules space: http://www.so-much-stuff.com/pdp8/flipchip/modules.htm Unfortunately, there are several Rxxx modules for which I have neither example or picture: Module Versions Description R211 K* L* MB, PC, MA, (PDP8) R212 A* J* MQ (PDP8), 2 FFs, SR, SL, Read-in, Clear R220 F* L* 3-Bit SR, Parallel Read-in, Diodes out for detecting all 0s in R111 node R284 A* Quadraflop, PDP8, 4 stable states R450 D* E* Clock for use with TTY, first pulse comes 1/2 period late R451 E* Teletype Clock, for faster teletype think R450 R601 B* F* H* Pulse Amplifier, 6 DCD Gates, 100 or 400 ns pulses R613 B* R603 that cannot be triggered from output, with 5 mA loads R650 E* Bus Driver, 2 circuits, 2 Inputs & Node (* just means I don't have a board drawing for it yet) There are also some more exotic modules for which I lack even a schematic: R012, R1110, R1130, R152, R200, R406, R407, R408, R623 and I don't expect to be able to locate or do much about those. Anyway, what I'm looking for is some help with the former list. If anyone has examples of these, would it be possible to photograph the component and solder sides with decent resolution and forward the photos to me? (You are welcome to forward the whole module, but I don't expect that :-).) The version information just refers to versions that I have schematics for. Any version you have is fine. I am particularly interested in the R2xx, as those are key modules for the straight-8. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide. (Meanwhile, I'll start drawing Sxxx modules.) Vince -- o< The ASCII Ribbon Campaign Against HTML Email!

13 years, 8 months

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Colossal cave map

by djg＠pdp8online.com

Does anyone have the data set used to generate a colossal cave map like this one? It would make a nice demo for my plotter. The site owner doesn't. http://aquaporin4.com/

13 years, 8 months

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ftp.compaq.com document?

by legalize＠xmission.com

<ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/software/alpha-tools/documentation/curren…> Where does this live now? -- "The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" free book <http://tinyurl.com/d3d-pipeline> The Computer Graphics Museum <http://computergraphicsmuseum.org> The Terminals Wiki <http://terminals.classiccmp.org> Legalize Adulthood! (my blog) <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>

13 years, 8 months

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Living Computer Museum

by wmaddox＠pacbell.net

It looks like the LCM is now open. Got to get up to Seattle now. :) http://www.geekwire.com/2012/altairs-altos-ataris-paul-allens-living-comput… http://www.livingcomputermuseum.org/ --Bill

13 years, 8 months

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PERQ monitor problem (was HP 9845 power supply diagnostics)

by colineby＠isallthat.com

Tony, Sorry, didn't get to the PERQ monitor this weekend. Francis was looking at the 2645 (with me sorta offering moral support). Hopefully get back to the 2645 next week. PERQ's in the queue. --Colin ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk wrote: >> >> My recollection is it was both rolling and skewed. I need to get it in > >Right... Sounds liek capacitor trouble at a first guess.. > >> the queue for our CRT doctor to look at. He's got a never ending stream >> of Cubs to deal with supporting our BBC classroom systems. I have to > >Ah, the Microvitec Cub. I remeber those... They are one of the few >'consumer' monitors of the period to use an EHT multiplier module (a >tripler IIRC), most small colour monitors went over to the diode split >line output transformer. The tripler design is probalby easier to fix -- >the transofmer is less stressed ('only' 8kV o nthe end of the HV winding) >and tends to last better. The tripler is a potted module, but it's >possible to make an equivalnet or to find soembody who still has a >'universal tripler' on the shelf.... > >> nudge the PERQs monitor in among them, as well as an HP 2645 scan card >> that's puzzling me. I may have mentioned (?) I took the expedient >> measure of swapping the base from one monitor for the other to address >> the cable sheathing issue we had. This leave us the backup monitor on > >You mentioend the cable problem. It's is. alas, common on PERQ 1 machines. > >I guess you've not managed to track down the fault in the monitor, then. >The PRERQ 1 monitor is not too unconventional from what I remember, and >it not a bad one to learn on. You should dive in with a 'socpe.... > >> the injured list waiting for the doc. > >I wonder if it would be worth gettign the repairer to appear on this >list, that way we can cut out the middle man and reducew the chance of >errors... > >-tony >

13 years, 8 months

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videotex and other pre-internet OSPs

by tom_a_sparks＠yahoo.com.au

I am wondering if there is software that can allow me run/experience these old pre-internet Online services both from a user and a sysops view as I did not know about them until later? --- tom_a_sparks "It's a nerdy thing I like to do" Please use ISO approved file formats excluding Office Open XML - http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html Ubuntu wiki page https://wiki.ubuntu.com/tomsparks 3 x (x)Ubuntu 10.04, Amiga A1200 WB 3.1, UAE AF 2006 Premium Edition, AF 2012 Plus Edition, Sam440 AOS 4.1.2, Roland DXY-1300 pen plotter, Cutok DC330 cutter/pen plotter Wanted: RiscOS system, GEOS system (C64/C128), Atari ST, Apple Macintosh (6502/68k/PPC only)

13 years, 8 months

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DomainOS and Domain Keyboard for one HP9000/400

by spedraja＠ono.com

Just today installed in my computer room my HP9000/400. It's an Apollo compatible machine, as far as I can see (Domain keyboard support in back, etc). It comes with NetBSD installed (1.9.2 version, very limited), and it works, but I should like to get a copy of DomainOS (and the keyboard, I suppose) and UP-UX (...9.xx version perhaps ?). Oh, and one transceiver from AUI to RJ45 would be fine too... I gor one but for I can't locate it. If someone can offer this bunch of items I should like to talk privately about a trade. Thanks ! Sergio

13 years, 8 months

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Computermuseum der Fakultät Informatik at the Universität Stuttgart

by michael.99.thompson＠gmail.com

Klemens Krause and Christian Corti, the caretakers of the Computer Museum at the University of Stuttgart, opened their museum on a Sunday so I could have a short visit. Well, the short visit was so fascinating that it lasted for over six hours. I really appreciated them giving up a large part of their weekend for my visit. I primarily wanted to see their collection of DEC PDP-8 systems because of my current restoration projects. They have a very nice looking and functional Classic PDP-8 system with a Tennecomp tape drive that is very similar to an 8-track cartridge. Their LAB 8/E has lots of peripherals, including a Votrax voice synthesizer and X-Y scope display. We also got to see their IBM 1130 and the Librascope LGP-30 running. That was the first time I have seen a vacuum tube computer running. It was quickly apparent from the demonstrations that just about everything in the room was interconnected so almost all of the peripherals could be connected to a system with the flip of a switch. They have extensive demonstrations that they run to demonstrate the capabilities of both the systems and the peripherals. If you are in Germany you really need to make an effort to visit the Computermuseum der Fakult?t Informatik. Klemens and Christian are very capable and very enthusiastic about their preservation, restoration, and demonstration work. http://computermuseum.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de -- Michael Thompson

13 years, 8 months

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Digital / DEC RGB cable

by hollobon＠gmail.com

Hi, I have a Digital RGB cable here if anyone wants it for the cost of postage. It's got a D-sub shaped connector on one end with three circular connectors inside marked A1, A2 and A3, and 3 RGB BNC plugs on the other end. Says BC29H-2E REV-BOI 47746 on the d-sub shaped plug. I'm in the UK. Cheers, Pete.

13 years, 8 months

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Blue screen of Basic

by jonas＠otter.se

On Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:23:06 -0700, "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh at aracnet.com> wrote: >> > actually I think that's a book that's already on my wish list... I >>> >> desperately need a shutter speed tester for some of my older gear. >> > >> >Make one! Although there is a trap for the unwary that most comemrical >> >testers get erogn too. > I plan to. Several years ago I built a simple shutter speed tester with two phototransistors on a piece of perfboard. It is meant for 35mm cameras and has the phototransistors spaced 18mm apart, 9mm from the edges of the frame, so that they are equally spaced from the centre of the frame, half the frame width apart. The transistors have 10k collector resistors and are fed from a 4.5V battery supply. The collectors go to the tip and ring of a 3.5mm stereo plug, which plugs into the line (or microphone) input of my laptop. I strap the perfboard behind the shutter of my camera with rubber bands and point the camera at a lamp. I then use Audacity to record the output of the tester when I fire the shutter. If you display the recorded waveform from a focal plane shutter, the two channels will show when the shutter curtains pass each phototransistor and you can then easily work out the shutter speed. IIRC it will also show if a curtain is slow near one end of its travel. Obviously, it also works for blade shutters, both traces will then show the same. Also obviously, the transistors are fitted behind holes in the perfboard so as not to foul the shutter curtains :) You can find several versions of this design on the net by Googling. It works quite well. You will probably find that speeds down to about 1/250 are correct, and 1/1000 will be quite badly off and cannot be made correct. /Jonas

13 years, 8 months

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amusing google image search results

by dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu

I noticed that doing a google image search on the string {kaypro 2/84} yields an interesting array of pictures that have nothing to do with Kaypro. For instance, there are oodles of classic synthesizer pics. -- David Griffith dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text. Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing? A: Top-posting. Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

13 years, 8 months

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